Legal aid advocate Frederick H. Zemans dies of Alzheimer’s at 87

The Osgoode Hall Law School professor was known for his work in clinical legal education

Legal aid advocate Frederick H. Zemans dies of Alzheimer’s at 87

Legal aid advocate and Osgoode Hall Law School Professor Emeritus Frederick H. Zemans has died at the age of 87 from Alzheimer’s disease.

Zemans was key to community-based legal aid development in Canada. In his role as Parkdale Community Legal Services’ founding director, he helped found the first community legal clinic in Ontario in 1971. The clinic supported low-income communities and provided students with practical poverty law training; it also became a model for experiential learning and was a cornerstone of the clinical programs at Osgoode, the school wrote in a press release on its website.

Zemans championed Osgoode’s Intensive Program in Poverty Law, and the Frederick H. Zemans Prize in Poverty Law was created to recognize students displaying excellence in the program. He also launched the Joyce and Fred Zemans Scholarship with his wife, Professor Emeritus Joyce Zemans, to help graduate students committed to the arts, justice, and public service.

In addition, Zemans was the school’s clinical education director. He was among the first faculty members teaching in the alternative dispute resolution programs offered to undergraduates and graduates, applying his practical experience as a mediator and facilitator.

He was boards of inquiry chair at the Ontario Human Rights Commission. He also co-authored the publications “From Crisis to Reform: A New Legal Aid Plan for Ontario” and “Access to Justice for a New Century – The Way Forward.”

Zemans was a visiting academic at the London School of Economics, Kobe University and UCLA. His tenure at Osgoode lasted over four decades – according to York University, he had inspired law students to tackle social justice and public service.

He was born and raised in Calgary, and received his degree at the University of Toronto.

Zemans died on August 10. Donations in his memory were to be made to PCLS, the Alzheimer's Society of Canada, and other charities.